This week mostly we tried to evade the wind, which wasn't easy, because it blew hard and without let-up. It was a malevolent wind, a wind that shrieked and howled about the village like the spirit of a world in torment.
It flung heavy flower pots over the cobbles, strew the budding almond nuts across the road and scattered buckets and watering cans around like paper cups. It gusted against the house like waves against a boat, testing the shutters grip on their hinges.
ALMOND NUTS SCATTERED ACROSS THE ROADThe only escape from the wind was to flee over the brow of the hill where, in another world, we led the dogs through leafy glades lying tranquil in the sunshine. The contrast was hard to credit, a bit like the first and third world cheek by jowl.
Happily, the wind didn't arise until Sunday, which meant that on Saturday morning Slavic, Andre, Sasha and I could complete the pedestrian paths around the park. Sand and stone had been delivered the previous day, along with a dozen bags of cement.
So while Sasha mixed concrete, Andre helped me deliver it to site and Slavic laid it; he emptied buckets of fresh concrete on to a bed of gravel, raked the mixture roughly level and then shaped it with a hand float. That's the end of my path building; we must have about 300 metres in total.
A HOST OF BUMBLEBEE ORCHIDSWhatever the weather, we can now leave the house via the back door, make a leisurely pedestrian circuit of the park and return five to ten minutes later via the front door. (This - Thursday pm - is just what I've done at the end of a wet and windy day.)
NAKED MAN ORCHIDSBeyond the gates the season's orchids are a joy to behold. The first tongue orchids, among the last to bloom, have now appeared. They flourish in a tiny dell that only we know about - we think!
TONGUE ORCHIDAs well as these beauties! Woodcock? Sawfly? I'm not sure.
On the social scene we have enjoyed several get-togethers with our UK friends, Mike and Lyn, frequent visitors to the Algarve who are staying at a villa nearby.
IBIS: Mike & Lyn
They come mainly to watch and photograph the region's fauna and flora, especially birds and orchids. You may judge for yourself the quality of their work, bearing in mind the reduced sizes of the emailed pictures.
HOUSE ORCHID, JUST COME INTO BLOOMI have received two emails from "Paypal" warning me of the need to take action. The first of them, the idiot version, was addressed to "Dear Coustemer", possibly from the same West African gentlemen who are forever offering me (Dear Beneficiary!) vast riches in exchange for a small down payment, concluding with a "God bless you! - not a blessing that I reciprocate.
WILD PEONIE IN BARBARA'S GARDEN
The scary email was from "service@paypal.com". It was addressed (in Portuguese) to Dear TE Benson, it gave the correct final four digits of my credit card and it advised me correctly that the card was about to expire - adding a request to update the card. The only suspicious feature was the Paypal link in the email, the kind of link that people are advised never to click on.
MY BUTTERFLY
I forwarded the email to Paypal's security division who responded promptly, advising me that it was a scam. Well, if it was, it was a very convincing scam from people who clearly had access to my personal information. I am resolved to be even more careful than usual.
MIKE'S BUTTERFLY
For some months the erratic performance of Barbara's inexpensive smart-phone has been causing me almost as much frustration as it causes her. She insisted, when we purchased it, on the cheapest model available - after the last of her several phones was remodelled by the dogs. Both of us have subsequently paid the price of her thrift in stress. I can't count the number of times that I have threatened to throw the device away. Eventually Jones agreed that something had to be done about it.
A SUNNY MOMENT IN THE GARDENThe options were to use my points with Vodafone to discount a better model or for her to take over an iPhone that I received as a gift a few years ago. After some musing, she agreed to the latter. I have to say that, a few introductory hassles apart, my wife appears to be very pleased with the phone (as indeed she should be) and I am equally pleased that it has found a good home.
GREEN SANDPIPER: Mike & Lyn
In my English class we returned to the subject of Brexit, specifically to easyJet's plans to establish a base in the EU - possibly Portugal - to ensure its future right to fly within the Union. The Luton-based budget airline offers flights not only between the UK and mainland European destinations, but also within continental Europe.
HELEBRINE ORCHID: Mike & Lyn
Like many other businesses (and pensioners), it's been hammered by the devaluation of the pound. We daily curse the turkeys who voted for a Brexit Christmas, as fascinated as we remain by the politics swirling around it. Watching Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon squaring up to each other in the Ladies' Mixed Martial Arts might be prime time entertainment if there wasn't so much at stake.
STAYING WARM IN FRONT OF THE FIRE
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